It hasn't been an easy year for boxing star Ryan Garcia. He was the talk of the boxing world at the start of the year, grabbing headlines for his pre-fight antics against Devin Haney. The 26-year-old backed the pre-fight theatrics with a spectacular display in the ring that culminated in a majority decision win.
However, it later came to light that Garcia had tested positive for Ostarine, a performance-enhancing drug. On June. 20, the bout was overturned as a no-contest and Garcia was fined $1.1 million. He was also suspended for a year, but troubles outside the ring continued to accumulate.
A little over a week after the suspension, the WBC (World Boxing Council) expelled Garcia from any activity with the organization after he repeatedly used racial slurs against Black people and disparaging comments against Muslims. Garcia's father released a joint statement with his wife after the suspension revealing that their son has a drinking problem.
That said, it seems like 'King Ry' wants to put the past to rest and start fresh whenever he's eligible to compete again. He took to Instagram to share pictures from the gym and captioned the post:
"No looking back baby. It’s a fresh start. I can’t let them catch me slipping."
Check out the post below:
Eddie Hearn reveals why the no-contest against Ryan Garcia was difficult for Devin Haney to deal with
Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia engaged in one of the most compelling rivalries of the year for the WBC super lightweight title.
Garica dropped Haney multiple times in the contest and won the fight by majority decision. However, the fight was overturned as a no-contest after Garcia tested positive for the banned substance ostarine in two separate tests taken before his fight. He was handed a one-year ban from boxing by the New York State Athletic Commission and has been subject to severe scrutiny ever since.
On the other hand, Haney has faced some harsh criticism from fans after he thanked the commission for doing the "right thing." Prominent boxing promoter Eddie Hearn revealed the aftermath of the Garcia fight and its impact on Haney in a recent interview with Fight Hub TV. He said:
"One thing about Devin is that he's mentally very solid. Like, he's an intelligent kid. I think he's in control of his emotions. I think the defeat hurt him on many levels because, one, he probably never thought he'd get beat."
He added:
"Two, I think the drug test stuff was hard for him to take, the weight stuff, like, everything, and It was almost like, you know, when Ryan tested positive, Devin sort of got the blame. It was a really weird reaction, wasn't it, on social? It was like, oh, 'stop being a crybaby, Devin.' It's like, what?"
Catch Hearn's comments below: